In May, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee launched the 21st Century Cures initiative to speed the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments and cures for patients. The Committee is conducting a series of hearings and has released white papers on a range of topics to solicit input from patients, researchers, and leaders in government and industry.

Today, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on “21st Century Cures: Examining Barriers to Ongoing Evidence Development and Communication”. The background memo for the hearing notes that learning about new medicines continues after approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recognizes the need for stakeholders in medicine and research to exchange information: “Learning and data sharing regarding safety and efficacy are happening through a multitude of platforms around the globe. Dialogue regarding this enhanced learning–whether through the Internet, social networks, or other platforms–should be facilitated among doctors, patients, researchers, and scientists because the free flow of data, research, and results related to what a therapy or combination of therapies does or does not do well and in what types of patients could help advance the discovery, development and delivery cycle.” Read More